The crossbow and the knives
by Narcissa1996
Summary: Starts between S3 and S4. Daryl meets a intriguing young woman when hunting in the woods. Read how their story will evolve in a world filled with walkers, fear and even a tiny bit romance. Will everyone make it out alive? (Follows general plot with a few changes here and there, mainly due to OC. - Rated M for future chapters)
1. Chapter 1

**Alright folks, this is my first Walking Dead fanfiction. Please keep in mind that English is not my first language when reading this story.**

 **(Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own the Walking Dead.)**

 **Edited version**

Alright, just going to grab some berries and then back to the car, Madeleine tries to reassure herself for the hundredth time as she makes her way through the woods. She didn't use to be this scared, granted she had been freaked out like everyone when this _thing_ started but she had managed to survive rather well. However, since last week's incident, she had become rather scared once again.

Suddenly, she heard some leaves rustling in the distance but when she turned around, she couldn't see anything moving.

'Calm down,' she sighed, speaking to herself, 'You have a badass dagger and a badass gun, and most importantly some throwing knives.' She smiled as she felt the six knives secured around her hips. They had quickly become her best friends; a gun was too loud and attracted even more zombies, and she avoid using the dagger because that meant that they had gotten too close. Besides, it was rather messy, she thought, shuddering in disgust as she remembered the first she had had to use the dagger and how she ended up covered in zombie blood.

She then saw what she had been looking for: A beautiful bush with even more beautiful berries! Happily, she grabbed the empty plastic bag from her backpack and filled it with berries.

As she was almost done, she heard leaves rustling once again but this time, as she turned around, she saw someone holding what seemed to be a crossbow, moving through the woods, only some meters away from her.

'Shit,' she cursed silently as she hid behind the nearest tree.

You would have thought that after being alone since the very start of this _thing_ , she would have been happy to see another human. That would have been the case before last week: Same scenario, different place. She had been picking berries in the woods further south, when she had seen two men walking in the forest. Madeleine had been so happy to see humans, she

immediately made her way up to them, a big smile plastered on her face.

However, she now looks back at it bitterly, not all humans are good…

She heard some steps slowly growing louder but still barely audible, meaning that the man was getting closer. The young woman was breathing very fast now and almost screaming when something suddenly appeared in front her. A squirrel! _God!_ This is so embarrassing, she thought.

However, through the sounds, she registred that the man must be very close to her tree now. Breathing deeply, and very slowly as to not make a sound, she grabbed one of her knives firmly in her hand.

Without wasting anymore time, she got up rapidly, turned around and threw her knive without taking the time to aim properly. At the same time, an arrow flew only some inches away from her right arm, instantanly killing the squirrel.

'The hell !?' She heard the man wonder in a low voice, as he noticed the knife protruding from his shoulder.

'Oh fuck, I'm so sorry,' Mady apologised as she made her way towards the man. He was rather tall and looked a bit dishelved, his hair falling in front of his blue eyes. As she reached him, she noticed that he had very muscular arms.

'Let me have a look,' she urged and before he could react, she was feeling around the wound to see if there was any major dammage. However, his hand abruptly grabbed hers and rougly removed it from his shoulder.

'Ya gotta be crazy if ya think 'm gonna let ya touch me after this,' he drawled in his thick southern accent that had her mesmerized. Mady wasn't from the South, she had lived in Chicago all her life, before moving to Florida two years ago and she wasn't very familiar with his accent.

'I'm sorry I impaled you,' she apologised again, 'I kind of freaked out when I saw you!' If deadly stares could kill, she would have died right then.

'I look that scary, uh?' he sniggered, looking at her disapprovingly as he silently let his crossbow fall to the ground. Damn, that thing looks badass!

'Yeah, well, it's too late now,' she was starting to become impatient, 'So you stay still and let me remove the bloody knife,' Mady uttered the last part so quickly that she had already taken out the knife before the man could react.

'What the fuck, woman,' he now barked in disbelief as he saw her wiping the knife clean against some tall grass. He was holding his left shoulder with his right hand in order to lessen the bleeding. She had been right, it didn't look that bad and the bleeding was under control.

'Don't be such a pansy,' she laughed, starring at him as if he was the funniest thing she had ever seen. The brown haired woman then ripped the right sleeve off her dress and gave it to the southern man. 'Here, cover it with this, I'll make you a proper bandage once we reach my car.'

'Ain't no way in hell 'm gonna follow ya to yer car,' he spat, obviously getting angry at the young woman. That didn't keep him front accepting the bit of fabric, though.

'Oh, come on now,' she was becoming rather annoyed as well, 'I already tried to kill you and failed. The least I can do now is desinfect and bandage it properly.'

He seemed to think this through for some time, before nodding reluctantly. 'How far is it?'

'Not that far,' she replied, as she grabbed the bag full of berries. 'Ten minutes tops.' He actually looked rather handsome, not like a model or anything, but like a strong badass that had survived in this apocalypse.

He then took the dead squirrel, removed the arrow and tied the animal to his waist where three other squirrels were already hanging.

'Alright,' he agreed, 'But do not try anythin' funny,' he warned her in a serious voice but she couldn't keep herself from laughing.

'Do you want me to carry your crossbow?' She asked, wanting to help him. However, he looked so insulted by her offer that she merely raised her hands in defeat.

They walked quietly, he didn't seem to be much of a talker. She offered him some berries but he quickly refused, looking at her as if she had grown a second head.

'That yer car?' He asked once they reached the road, gesturing towards a black car.

'Obviously,' she replied under her breath, it was the only car in the road for miles. He stared at her, a deep frown on his face. Clearly, humor wasn't his thing.

She opened the trunk of the Cadillac Escalade and rumaged through it, looking for the first aid kit.

'Did you steal it?' He suddendly asked.

She looked at him and saw that he was talking about the car. As she now thought it over, she noticed that he must probably be a redneck, considering his accent and the general vibe he gave off.

'Yeah,' she lied, avoiding his eyes.

Once she found the kit, she took out some bandage, a steril gauze and a small flask of desinffectant.

He didn't move when the desinffectant touched his skin. Not such a pansy after all, she smirked.

'Thanks,' he said once the wound was properly taken care of. He then slung his crossbow around his unhurt shoulder and turned around, walking back towards the woods.

She silently watched him leave, stunned for a few moments. There were probably only fifteen more minutes of daylight, Mady noticed as she looked up at the sky. Cursing silently at the recklessness of what she was about to do, she remembered that she didn't even know his name.

'Dude', she called out, and he stopped so suddendly that it was almost comical.

'What did ya just call me?' He growled, turning around.

'Look, I don't know where you are staying but it's going to be dark soon. I can give you a ride,' Madeleine offered.

He looked up at the sky and constated the same. Sighing, he walked back towards the car, hating the fact that she was right but accepting her offer nonetheless.

'Call me that once again, and ya will be dead,' he warned her as he walked past her towards the passenger door.

'Threaten me once again, and you are the one who ends up dead,' Mady sassed, making her way towards the driver's door.

As she sat down behind the steering wheel, she saw that he was seating rather uncomfortably with the crossbow on his lap. She thought about asking why he didn't put it in the backseat but she had already noticed that he was rather protective of it.

After driving for about five minutes, the silence only interrupted by his indications, she decided that she couldn't stand it any longer.

'So, what's your name?' She asked and saw him tense, probably hesitating whether or not to reveal it.

'Daryl,' he replied after a few seconds.

'Nice to meet you, Daryl,' Mady said and stretched out her right hand to him while driving. 'I am Madeleine, by the way.' He shook her hand, looking curiously at the weird young woman sitting beside him.

'Pretty name,' he said out of the blue after a few minutes had passed.

'Thanks! I got it for my birthday,' she laughed and as he heard her childish laugh and saw her bright smile, he coudln't help but laugh as well.

 **Please review so I know what you think of this so far :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's the second chapter :) I'm not particularly happy as it is more of a filler chapter but I hope that you will enjoy it nonetheless!**

 **EDITED**

It was now dark outisde, the road only illuminated by the car's headlights. It probably wasn't pitch black but since the road was heavily surrounded by the forest on both sides, very little moonlight passed through.

'Ya take a sharp turn left now,' Daryl indicated, pointing his finger at what appeared to be a dirt road. 'And then ya go right, the prison will be at the end of tha road.'

'Seriously?!' she exclaimed loudly, hitting both her hands on the steering wheel in amusement, 'the world turns to shit and you decide to stay in a prison?'

The hunter looked at the woman in confusion. 'Ya gotta keep them walkers away, the fences help,' he explained.

'Fair enough,' she nodded, slightly smirking.

As she turned right, Mady spotted a watchtower, probably belonging to the prison.

When the car approached the fences, she saw two people running towards the gates. One of them appeared to be a male adult, the other one probably a kid as his shape was smaller but Mady couldn't be sure in this darkness.

Daryl opened his window and signaled them to open the gate. The two shapes complied straightaway and the metal gates made a cringy noise as they were slid open. Mady looked around herself, scared that the noise would attract more zombies but for now there only seemed to be a dozen of them wandering around aimlessly.

When they were past the gates, Daryl immediately opened his door and left, taking his crossbow with him. _Well, no farewells then_ , Mady muses^d sarcastically. As she put the car in reverse mode and drove towards the gate again, she noticed that they were already closed.

She was about to get out of the car to go open the gate herself when someone knocked on the driver's window.

'Yeah?' She asked, still annoyed about the closed gates as the window slid open.

'I'm Rick,' the man said, introducing himself, 'You're staying with us, at least for tonight.' He was still young, probably in his thirties, though his unshaven beard made him look a lot older.

'Not gonna happen,' Mady replied, her most sarcastic smile plastered on her face.

'Daryl's orders,' he simply explained as he shrugged his shoulders, making his way towards the trunk of the car.

'I'm gonna give Daryl his goddamn orders', she snarled stepping out of the car and falling face first on the gravel ground.

'D'you need help?' A boy asked, a big sheriff hat shadowing most of his face but for his toothy smile, before stretching out his hand.

'That would be nice, thank you,' the young woman thanked him. _At least, someone's got manners._

Staying there wasn't in her plans, that's for sure, but as she glanced towards the fences, she decided that a good night of sleep couldn't hurt.

'Which bags do you need for tonight?' Rick inquired as he looked inside the boot, a shocked look on his face.

Mady looked inside too, trying to find out the reason behind Rick's shock before realising that she might perhaps have packed a little heavy for a zombie apocalypse, but in her defense, the car being a seven seater, she didn't see why she shouldn't have used the extra space.

'This one will suffice,' she decided as she tried to pick up a fat gray suitcase and failed miserably, earning herself the laughters of Rick and the boy.

'I'll carry it,' Rick chuckled. Mady did feel a bit embarrassed at needing help from someone. Ever since this _thing_ had started, she had been on her own and she couldn't have fared that badly seeing as she was still alive; a bit thinner, but still far from anorexic. To her great satisfaction, she saw Rick grimacing as he picked up the suitcase and made his way towards a small door on the left side of the building.

'I'll take this bags too, just in case,' Mady told the young boy as she entered the boot to take two black bags from inside it.

'Here, let me help you,' the young boy offered when she appeared again. She reluctantly gave him one of the bags, worrying that it might be too heavy for him but the kid seemed to be stronger than he looked seeing as he didn't complain.

'Thank you,' she said as the followed Rick's path, 'So, what's your name, sheriff?' She asked him as they walked side by side.

'I'm Carl,' he replied without looking at Mady, 'I'm not a sheriff, though, my dad is,' he explained nodding towards Rick who was walking ahead of them.

'I'm sure you would make a great sheriff,' she complimented him and Carl blushed. She usually didn't like kids, small ones especially, but this one appeared to be rather mature for his age.

'Can I ask you two things?' Carl blurted out when they were almost at the door.

'Sure.'

'What are in those bags and why are you wearing a dress?' He wondered, amusement audible as he finished his question.

'Guns and other kind of weapons,' she answered as Carl opened the door and indicated for her to go inside. 'As for the dress, this is a story for another time.'

—

When they got inside, Mady was surprised to see that there were so many people there, thirty at least. She had thought that people would probably have regrouped in order to survive, but she did not expect for groups to be larger than, let's say, ten people. There were people walking around, talking with each other and even children playing.

'Come with me,' Carl called for Mady, taking her hand, 'let us find you a cell.' As he led her trough the people, Mady spotted Daryl sitting around a table, skinning one of the squirrels, a middle aged woman next to him doing the same thing. He was talking animatedly with the short haired woman and Mady couldn't help but feel a bit jealous.

After walking through two dark corridors and a room sporting some small round tables and a few chairs, they reached cell block C.

Carl opened the barred door and let her inside.

'It's,' Mady started, not really knowing how to express it, 'homey,'

There was a ground and a first floor, all the cells being on the left side. On the first floor, Mady's eyes were immediately attracted to what seemed to be a perch.

'Yeah,' Carl agreed excitedly, putting the bag he had been carrying on the table, 'I sleep on the first floor, in that cell,' he declared, pointing towards the second cell starting from where they were now standing.

'Where do you want -,' Carl started but he was interrupted by Rick entering the cell block.

'Go play with your sister, I need to talk to Mady,' Rick ordered his son. Carl was about to refuse but decided otherwise when he saw his father's stern look.

'See you later,' the boy told Mady before leaving. She nodded and gave him a quick smile, a bit worried about Rick's tone.

She was still standing in the middle of room like an idiot, her bag still on her shoulder, when Rick who had already gotten seated, indicated for her to do the same. Mady placed the bag on the table's edge and took a seat facing Rick.

'I need to ask you three questions,' Rick stated, his eyes staring directly at hers, 'but first you've got to tell what's in those bags.'

'Weapons,' Mady admitted after a while. She had thought about lying but there was no use in it since she had already told his son. 'Handguns, two sniper riffles, a bazooka, some ammo, bows and some things I don't recognise.'

Rick was staring at her curiously, side-glancing the bags, 'A bazooka?' Rick exclaimed, obviously surprised. 'Where did you get all that from?'

'I took the guns from home,' Mady confessed, uncomfortable at being questionned, 'as for the rest, well, I panicked when this all started and I raided a gunsmith store,' she blurted out and immediately felt stupid; admitting to a sheriff that you have stolen was not the smartest thing to do.

'Alright,' he finally said, chuckling, 'So, first question,' he announced, becoming serious once again, 'How many walkers have you killed?'

'Zombies, you mean?' Mady ased, confused and Rick nodded. 'Well, I obviously didn't count them, but I'd guess about two dozen give it or take,' she noticed that Rick was still staring at her, silently judging her and she felt the need to explain herself further, 'I lived in Florida, that's where I was when all hell broke loose. After a while, I decided to move north. Before then I had only killed five zombies but when I started travelling there were just so many on the highway and on the other roads…'

'That's okay,' Rick reassured her, 'I understand.' Mady was finally starting to warm up towards this man, he seemed to be suspicious, yes, but also rather understanding. 'How many people have you killed?'

That was the question that threw Mady off the hook. She didn't want to answer that question, she didn't want to be judged for what she had done. But at the same time, she didn't want to lie: if the group was to accept her, she wanted it to for whom she really was. 'Two,' she conceded at last.

'Why?' Rick questioned immediately, leaning towards her over the table.

Mady licked her lip, before starting, 'I was in the woods and saw two men walking around. They asked me for a ride, I agreed. After a while we stopped the car and they decided it would be best to go hunt for dinner. I was naive and I followed them into the woods again,' Mady stopped, wondering if she needed to continue, but the look Rick gave her showed that he wanted the whole story. 'They started speaking in Portuguese among themselves, thinking I wouldn't understand, but I did. They wanted to rape me and after all the shit I had gone through, I wasn't going to let that happen. I shot them both.'

'That's why you threw a knife at Daryl?' He inquired after a few minutes had passed.

'Yes.'

He slowly nodded and stood up, telling her to follow him, saying that dinner must be ready. After walking through the same corridors she had passed with Carl, and before he opened the door to what he explained was the inside garden where they all ate, Mady decided that there was something she needed to ask him.

'Can you please keep it for youself,' Mady demanded, 'the last part I mean?'

'If the council asks about, I have to tell them,' he explained, feeling sorry for the young woman.

She nodded and as they entered the garden, she started smiling. It had been far too silent for too long. Perhaps it woudln't be that bad to stay with the group, it's not like she had a destination in mind.

—-

Dinner was unexpectedly tasty. Before all hell had broken loose, Madeleine used to be a vegetarian but when raiding a store before heading out of Florida, she decided that it would be stupid to let the meat go bad and so for the first time in her life she had eaten meat.

'So, do you like squirrel?' Maggie asked her, her mouth still full.

Rick had introduced her to pretty much everybody but Mady was sure that by tomorrow she would have forgotten half of their names. Rick had told her that the woman who had been with Daryl was Carol and that she had lost her daughter not long ago. Madeleine didn't have children, she was too young for that in her eyes, even though two of her friends already had kids. Besides, she had never really been fond of children.

'I don't know enough types of meat to compare it too,' Mady admitted after swallowing her first bite. It wasn't bad, but she still wasn't used to the taste. Remembering the berries that were still in the car, she decided that she would go get them before heading to bed.

'You're funny, I like you,' Maggie laughed loudly, making everyone look at them. Mady saw that Daryl was looking at her and she tried a small smile, feeling uncomfortable at being the centre of attention. She wasn't shy, she never had been, but she didn't yet know many people here and having them all look at her made her feel self-conscious. Daryl didn't smile back and instead turned back towards Carol and started talking with the woman again. _I did impale him, so I guess I deserve his anger,_ Madeleine reasoned.

Dinner passed quickly and seeing as she had arrived to the prison with Daryl rather late, it was already, what some would call, time for bed.

Before going to bed though, Mady decided she would take a shower first. Even though the water would probably be cold, it was still better than washing herself in lakes the way she had been doing since she had started her road trip from Florida.

She opted to go back to her car and get the berries she had been craving.

Comparing to some stories she had heard tonight from Maggie and Glenn, she had been rather lucky, especially when it came to food. Her dad owned, or rather had owned a big mansion with lots of land. Thanks to this, she had had fresh fruit and vegetables till the winter had hit, that's when Mady had decided to leave.

When she was about to leave the car again, an idea popped into her mind and she rummaged through the car's trunk trying to find a red bagpack. When she found the small white package she had been looking for, she coudln't help but smile, feeling proud of herself.

As she reached cell block c (all by herself!), Mady noticed that most people were still awake. Some of them, like Maggie and Glenn, deep in conversation around the central table. Carol was there too. The person she had been looking for, however, was nowhere to be found. Well, she could always do this later!

As she looked upstairs, she saw her suitcase in a corner. At least she wouldn't have to hurt herself trying to get it upstairs. She decided she would look for a place to sleep after taking a shower so she merely retrieved some toiletries, pajamas and a towel from her luggage.

Feeling rather content, even though she still wasn't sure if she would stay with the group for the long run or even if the council would let her stay, she made her way towards the room Rick had called their makeshift bathroom.

It was very simple, all white tiled. A very badly painted sign on the ground indicated the left side was for the women and the right one for the men. She didn't really see the point though, considering that the only thing separating both sides were some badly sewn curtains.

Going to the left side, she proceeded to strip down and pumped some water into the showerhead. It fealt heavenly! Granted, the water was cold and the ground slippery, but it still was the best shower she had had in the past two months. Mady started humming as she rubbed herself clean with shampoo and shower gel.

When she was done, she put on her very embarrassing and childish pajamas which were pink and covered in bunnies. She honestly hoped that everybody would be in their cells by now!

As a thank you, she decided to leave the shampoo and shower gel so that other people could benefit from it as well.

—-

Everything was going great, she was now entering cell block c and she hadn't seen anybody so far. However as she entered cell block c, she cursed under breath as she noticed a woman sitting around the table, cleaning a katana.

'Hey,' the woman greeted, 'haven't had a chance to meet you yet, been keeping watch,' she gave Mady an honest smile. 'I'm Michonne.'

Michonne eyed her pajamas curiously, but didn't comment even though a small grin appeared on her face-

'Nice to meet you! I'm Madeleine,' Mady replied, happy about the woman's hospitality and her lack of teasing.

'I know,' Michonne chuckled, 'Carl has been talking to everyone about you.'

Mady's cheeks reddened slightly and both of them started laughing. They talked for about an hour, their voices barely whispers in order not to wake anybody. Mady was really growing fond of that woman, especially when she mentionned that they would make a badass team.

'I'm going to bed,' Michonne announced, standing up, 'I've got to get some sleep before taking watch again in a few hours.'

Mary wished her a good night as well, and seeing as there was nothing else to do, she decided to go to bed as well.

She was so happy when she opened the door of the perch and saw nothing there but a pair of shoes, surely belonging to a male due to the size, and a rolled up sleeping bag. Nobody had yet claimed the perch it seemed! It looked more like it was used as a storage room. She hadn't particularly wanted to sleep in a cell, she prefered big spaces and hated to feel trapped. In comparison, the perch was slightly bigger than the cells and had windows at least.

Unpacking some of her things, including a yoga mattress, a sleeping bag and a fluffly pillow, Mady thought that she had in fact been very lucky to come accross Daryl in the woods, even if she hadn't talked to him again after getting here.

As she installed herself inside the bag, she decided that she would go look for a thicker mattress the next day, but for tonight this would suffice.

She must have been sleeping for four hours, when she heard someone open the door. Being on the run during an apocalypse made you become a lot more alert, even when sleeping. She turned around, still rolled in her sleeping bag, to see who had interrupted her very well deserved sleep.

'The hell?!' She heard someone exclaim in confusion and she immediately knew whom that voice belonged to since she had heard the exact same words some hours ago.

'What the fuck are you doing here,' she asked Daryl, trying to hide her childish outfit.

'Goin' ta sleep,' he grumbled, indicating towards the rolled sleeping bad. She turned to look at the bag, then back at Daryl and flushed deep crimson.

'Oh,' Mady stammered, standing up while still in the sleeping bag, 'I'm so sorry, I thought no one was sleeping here.' Embarrassed, she tried to walk towards the door, forgetting the bag and tripped on her own feet.

'Calm down, woman,' Daryl muttered, grabbing her by the waist before she could fall. Mady thanked the gods for the darkness in the room because she must have been as red as a tomato by now.

'Thank you,' Mady stuttered, 'I'm just going to leave and then we can forget this forget this happened,' she drawled more to herself than to Daryl.

'Ya can stay here,' Daryl answered after a few seconds, letting go of her waist, 'Don't want ya falling all over the place tryna find somewhere ta sleep.'

And now, as if she hadn't embarrassed herself enough today, he was teasing her, making it even worse. She wanted to reply something snarky but nothing came to her mind so she just nodded.

As she was installing herself back on the yoga mattress, Daryl spoke again:

'Nice pajamas,' he whispered and a grin was almost audible in his voice.

Mady didn't reply, there was no point and she would probably only embarrass herself further.

Hiding her face on the pillow, she could hear Daryl undress behind her.

 **Please be nice and leave me a review (even if it's to tell me that my writing sucks so much I should stop) ;)**


	3. Chapter 3

It was oddly loud when Madeleine woke up in the morning. She could hear people talking and walking around. Having been on her own for so long she was no longer used to this much noise.

She was about to get up when she remembered last night's events and immediately stopped her movements, carefully listening for any sound coming from within the perch. When she heard none, she stretched her entire body and for the first time since being on the run, she actually felt kind of rested.

"Shit!" Mady cursed when she looked at her watch and saw that is was already ten in the morning. No wonder she felt rested, she had slept incredibly late!

She immediately rummaged inside her suitcase, looking for something suitable to wear. When she was fully clothed, she exited the perch and went looking for the others. She spotted Carol as she entered the room adjoining cell block C and felt rather proud for still remembering the woman's name. Madeleine decided to go speak to the woman later, but first she really had to go find the restrooms again.

As she was making her way through the corridors, she felt a hand touching her shoulder. Acting on instinct and forgetting her whereabouts, she grabbed the hand and twisted it as she turned around and came face to face with the sheriff. Realizing her mistake, she immediately let go of his hand.

"Ouch," he hissed, rubbing his right hand with his left one.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry," Madeleine immediately apologized, feeling blood rush over to her cheeks _. That's great_ , Mady thought sarcastically, _first I impaled Daryl and now I twisted Rick's hand. I'm really being a very polite guest._

"It's alright," Rick quickly reassured her, "At least I know that you can look after yourself," he joked which made Mady relax a bit. He then became serious again, "Where have you been? I've been looking for you everywhere!"

"I overslept, woke up just five minutes ago," Madeleine replied, embarrassed about it.

"Carl and I looked through each cell, we didn't find you," Rick explained but she interrupted him.

"Yeah," Mady replied, "I actually slept on the perch," she confessed.

Rick looked at her dumbfounded but then shook his head.

"So, I spoke with the council," he announced after regaining his thoughts, "they agree with you staying here but I have to talk to you about-" Mady cut him off.

"That's great and all," Mady gabbled, "but I really, _really_ need to pee. Can we talk about this afterwards?" Her voice was now very high pitched.

Rick laughed loudly, but nodded and she disappeared inside the restrooms.

 _Well, she won't be that bad to have around,_ Rick mused, _at least she will bring some laughter and after the last interaction with the Governor, we surely need it._

Two minutes later, Madeleine popped in front of him again, now smiling.

"So, what was it that you needed to tell me?" She asked, feeling more awake now that she had splashed some water on her face.

Rick didn't answer, instead he led her back to the room next to cell block C. They sat down around one of the tables.

"As I said, the council agreed to let you stay with us, but as there is a lot of work to do around here," he paused, looking at her joyful face.

"Okay, I get it, I need a job," Mady caught on quickly, "what do you need to me to do?"

"We usually let people decided that," he replied, still astounded about the young woman's cheerfullness.

"Come on," she teased, a side smile now appearing on her lips, "just name it," Mady voiced, a challenging look taking over her face.

"Alright," Rick replied, chuckling, "well, we actually need more people to do the laundry, sometimes to kill the walkers by the fences, too."

"What about the watches at night?" Mady inquired.

"You're up for that?" Rick looked surprised but Madeleine merely nodded. "Yes, we need more people for the watches, I just didn't think you'd be up for it," he admitted.

"Why not? Looking all G.I. Jane with binoculars and guns, walking around the perimeter, sounds fun!"

"I will talk to Daryl, he's in charge of that," Rick assured her, standing up, "In the meantime, simply do your other tasks." Mady was still sitting down, a proud smirk on her face. _Yes, doing the laundry and killing the walkers by the fences would be kind of boring, but taking watch at night was totally badass_ , Madeleine thought.

"How old are you?" Rick suddenly asked, bringing back Madeleine from her thoughts.

"Twenty-two," she replied, looking suspicious. "Why?"

"Nothing," he said shaking his head, "Just wondering why you're so cheerful." He was about to leave, when he heard Mady reply:

"You would be too if you were as pretty as I am," Madeleine sassed, disappearing inside cell block C and leaving an awestruck Rick behind her.

 _Yeah, her cheerfulness was certainly needed here, especially to some people_ , Rick pondered, his thoughts drifting towards Daryl.

Back in cell block C, Madeleine found the Greene sisters talking with each other inside one of the cells. As the Mady approached them, she saw that youngest one was holding a baby.

"Is it yours?" She asked Beth, kind of surprised to see a baby in the middle of an apocalypse.

"No," Beth exclaimed loudly and beside her, Maggie laughed so hard that she had to hold her sides. "It's Rick's," Beth replied, amused as well.

Mady was thinking really hard, trying to remember everyone she had seen yesterday but she could not remember anyone having been introduced as Rick's wife or girlfriend.

"Dad would kill you if it was yours," Maggie teased Beth as she jokingly poked her sister on the ribs. Beth blushed furiously but didn't reply.

"Do you want to hold Judith," Beth offered Mady after her sister had calmed down.

"No," Mady snitched, panicking at the idea, "I'll probably crush her like an egg," she said seriously but both sisters started laughing again.

Mady stared at them both, wondering why in hell everybody laughed when she spoke around here. Did she have such a weird accent? Granted, her English probably wasn't the best, considering that even though she had been born in the US, her mother had taught her French first since that had been her mother tongue.

She cleared her voice in order to regain their attention, "Do you need help with the laundry or with the walkers by the fences?"

"The laundry has already been taken care of today," Maggie replied, "We'll take care of the walkers after lunch."

Madeleine thought about this for a few seconds, seeing that her morning was free, before an idea popped into her head. "Are there any tools around here? And wood, perhaps?"

Maggie looked confused but answered nonetheless, "I think there is workroom next to the communal showers, you might find your luck there."

"Great, thank you," Mady replied, already leaving cell block C.

She finally found the workroom Maggie had mentioned, which actually took quite long since Mady had forgotten where the showers were.  
Inside she found everything she had needed except for wood, but as her eyes wandered around, she saw two tables. _Well, this will definitely work_ , Mady thought, rubbing her hands in excitement.

About ninety minutes later, Mady was done. She had hammered her fingers twice and bruised her leg when one of the tables fell over, but otherwise she wasn't particularly hurt which was a surprise. However, as she now looked at her handy work, she noticed that she had fucked up. _There's no way I can carry this back to cell block C alone_ , Madeleine contemplated.

As she stepped out of the room, looking for help, she saw Michonne walking away. She quickly approached the skilled woman from behind, grabbed her hand and dragged her towards the workroom.

"What the fuck Madeleine," Michonne exclaimed, looking around the workroom, her arms crossed in front of her.

"I need your help," Mady pleaded and she even considered batting her eyelashes.

"Alright, what do you want?" the older woman asked, sighing loudly.

"You're too small," Michonne complained as both women walked through the corridors, Mady's makeshift bed between them.

"No, you're too tall," Mady joked, sticking out her tongue and earning herself a desperate look from Michonne. At barely little more than five feet, Madeleine was indeed particularly small, but she hated being teased on her height.

When they reached cell block C and after many weird looks from people they met on their way there, Mady started walking backwards to the stairs.

"Nope," Michonne declared when she understood Madeleine's intentions, "I'm not gonna help you carry that upstairs, no way!"

As Madeleine was about to plead with the woman once again, Beth and Maggie appeared and so did a grin on Mady's face.

"Beth, can you please help Michonne?" Mady asked the blond girl who looked at her curiously. "And can you help me, Maggie?"

Maggie and Beth looked at each other, silently deciding whether to help or not, but after a few seconds, both shrugged and did what they were asked too.

It was way more complicated to get that thing upstairs than Mady had previously imagined. It wasn't that heavy, but its large size made it hard to manoeuver and Madeleine was sure that she wouldn't have managed to get it upstairs with Michonne's help alone.

"Pfew," Mady breathed once they were upstairs and placed the wooden thing on the ground in order to gather their forces.

"What is that anyway?" Maggie asked as she crunched down, resting her hands on her thighs.

"A bed," Madeleine simply replied.

"What?" Michonne suddenly yelled, looking at Mady who now had a rather scared look on her face. "You made me help you get this monster thing upstairs when there are already so many beds here?!"

"Please, calm down," Mady whispered, hoping that no one else had heard them, "The other beds are too small," she explained.

"Oh, so you need a large bed because you are so damn fancy," Michonne retorted and Maggie was trying very hard not to laugh now.

"It's not for me," Madeleine admitted.

Maggie now wore a curious look, "for whom then?"

The very pale skinned woman blushed a deep shade of pink and pointed a trembling finger at the perch.

"You've got to be kidding me," Beth, Maggie and Michonne all scoffed at the same time.

When the four women had managed to get the makeshift bed inside the perch, which was a rather difficult task considering that the room wasn't exactly big, it was already lunchtime.

Outside, Mady saw Carol stirring something inside a large pot, probably soup.

"What are we eating today?" Maggie asked as she breathed in the delicious smell.

"Tomato soup and some rabbits that Daryl caught this morning," Carol replied, tasting the soup and nodding at the taste.

 _He surely is a badass hunter_ , Madeleine mused, _Daryl could probably make it through this world alone…_ It was an advantage to have someone like him on your side, all things considered but as she used to be a vegetarian, Mady still shuddered at the mere thought of hunting.

Minutes later, everybody started pilling up around the table and Carl appeared, holding his sleeping sister.

"Didn't see you this morning," Carl stated as he sat down next Mady and handed Judith over to Beth. The blonde seemed by far to be the most talented babysitter from the group.

"I have been busy," Madeleine replied vaguely and through the corner of her eye, she could see the Greene sisters laughing silently.

Carl smiled and his dimples showed, "Well I hope you are well rested because you have fence duty this afternoon," he said gesturing towards the fences where zombies were gathered in groups.

"Please," Mady answered, her sarcastic side now showing through, "I could do it in my sleep," she teased before taking a sip of her drink. Carl started laughing at once which did not go unnoticed by his father, who had just arrived with Daryl. Rick stared at his son for while before a big grin spread on his face and he turned to face Mady, giving her a thumbs up. _Seriously, what's wrong with this people_ , Mady contemplated, self-conscious about how nice everyone was being with her.

Madeleine had pretty much finished eating when someone touched her shoulder. She was about to give this person the same treatment she had given Rick earlier this morning but managed to hold back her impulsivity. As she turned around, she came face to face with Daryl.

"Can I talk to ya," he demanded rather than asked. _Damn, did she love his southern accent…_

"Yeah, sure," she replied, getting up. Daryl led her towards the door, probably seeking somewhere more silent to talk.

Madeleine was walking behind him when he suddenly stopped and she almost bumped right into his back, cursing something unintelligible.

"Rick said ya wanted t' take night watch," he said, facing her again.

 _Well, no chit-chat, then…_

"Yep," Madeleine replied, popping the last letter.

"Alrigh'," he continued, looking at her dubiously, "Yer on watch with me tonigh' at ten."

"Is that a date?" She taunted him, batting her eyelashes flirtatiously and she almost couldn't contain her laughter as his face turned red and he looked down, avoiding her teasing gaze.

"Just meet me in the guard tower," he grunted after a while, leaving.

"Don't forget the flowers," Mady yelled after him and she saw that he was blushing even more now _. Damn, he's too much of an easy target_ , she thought playfully.

"Why are you smilling," Maggie asked, a mischievous look on her face, as she appeared in front of the brown haired woman.

"Nothing," Mady replied though her grin didn't entirely leave her.

"Uhuh," the Greene sister mumbled, not believing her friend, "I doubt that grin will last after this afternoon."

Maggie had been right; they had been killing walkers by the fences for about two hours now and Mady surely no longer was in the good mood she had been earlier. The sun was beating her down and her right arm was starting to hurt from the repeated movements.

"That's a nice dagger," Carl said after a while, eyeing her weapon, "where did you get it?"

"You know Harry Potter, right?" Madeleine asked, wondering if the boy was not too young to have been part of that fandom.

"Duh, everybody knows Harry Potter," the boy chortled.

"Well, this is a replica of the dagger Bellatrix uses to kill Dobby," Mady gleefully voiced, staring at her own dagger in awe.

"You are so weird," Carl giggled and Maggie who had been listening to the conversation joined in as well.

Rick had told her that the group was in a rather foul mood at the moment because of some Governor that had attacked them. However, from what Mady had experienced up to now, they all seemed to be rather easygoing.

After the amount of walkers by the fences had decreased significantly, they decided to get back inside and call it a day.

Maggie and Carl went back to their respective cells. "Going to take a nap," Maggie whispered, stretching out her arms and Carl nodded in agreement.

Sleeping was certainly tempting but Madeleine preferred to shower first, she wouldn't feel comfortable to sleep while covered in sweat.

An hour later, she was comfortably tucked inside her sleeping bag, in the perch. She had once again forgotten to get herself a mattress and right now, she didn't feel like leaving the comfort of her makeshift bed.

"Shiiiit," Mady cursed as she woke up, hours later, "I'm sleeping too damn much!" She checked her watch and was scared to see that it was already eight o'clock.

She quickly got dressed again, putting on black tights and a comfortable black dress, securing the belt with the knives around her waist and fixing her gun on the holster around her right thigh. _I must surely look badass_ , Mady mused as she put on her tall black boots that were rather used by now. It was kind of weird to wear boots at this time of the year, but Mady had quickly learnt that they kept her from getting her legs scratched or even bitten. _Besides, it will probably be cold during watch tonight_ , Mady thought.

Before leaving, Madeleine remembered to bring the white package with her.

When she went back outside to have dinner, she spotted Maggie sitting by herself as most of the people had already eaten.  
"Why didn't you wake me," Madeleine asked, uncomfortable at having slept this long. _Rick will surely think that I'm a useless, sleepy koala,_ Mady scolded herself as she started eating some leftovers.

"I just woke up ten minutes ago, thought you would have woken already," Maggie replied once she had swallowed whatever she had been eating.  
Mdeleine nodded and they ate in silence, both being rather hungry.

Rick then appeared, holding a hunting and a sniper rifle in his hands. "Which one do you want for tonight?" He asked Mady, presenting both weapons on the table.

"I'll take the sniper, I've never used the other one," Madeleine replied, eyeing the strange weapon. Besides, the hunting rifle didn't appear to have a scope and there was no way she would be able to aim properly without it.

Rick silently gave her the weapon and was about to leave again but he stopped and spoke again. "Thank you," he told both women. Mady gave him a confused look, and he explained further, "For making Carl feel like a kid again. I saw him laughing today when you all were by the fences."

Madeleine was about to reply to Rick's words but Maggie beat her to it. "He deserves it," Maggie simply stated. All of them knew it was the truth.

As Rick was about to leave once again, he turned back towards Madeleine, a side grin on his face. "Your watch started two minutes ago, by the way," he announced in a mocking voice.

"Shiiit," Mady yelled and in less than a second, she was up on her feet, frantically running towards the tower. _Daryl's so gonna kill me_ , she thought in panic.

-  
Madeleine ran up the stairs and opened the floor trap, breathing very hard as her ribs felt like they were burning.

"I'm so sorry," she breathed once she saw Daryl by the window in front of her, "I was talking with Maggie and forgot to check the time," she apologized, bending forward and pressing her hands against her thighs as she tried to catch her breath.

"Don't know what yer talkin' abou'," he answered, eyeing Madeleine curiously. Her face was flushed, her hair was a mess and her chest was heaving furiously. _Best not to start thinking about her chest_ , Daryl chastised himself and he felt blood rushing to cheeks.  
" 's still five minutes to ten," he added after a while.

"What?" Madeleine uttered, looking at Daryl in disbelief. She then took a look at her watch and cursed as she noticed that Daryl was right, "that little fucker is gonna pay for this!"

"Wow, woman, calm down," the southern man drawled in his thick accent. "What cha talkin' about?" He inquired as he saw that Madeleine was still fuming with anger.

"Rick," Mady spat out, "he told me I was late for watch," she complained, sulking. Daryl then started laughing which angered the young woman further. "Oh, no," she blurted out all of sudden, "not you, too. Everybody here seems to start laughing the moment I speak!"

She now stood up and wiped invisible dust off her shoulders, raising her arms in sarcastic despair, "You're all a big, crazy squad!"

Daryl thought that her angered state was rather entertaining, the way she stood there looking at him like a cat who had just gotten her fur wet. "Can't help it," he shrugged mockingly, "yer just too damn funny."

Mady gave him death glare but decided to ignore him, for now. She spotted a pair of binoculars on the ground, next to what appeared to be Daryl's bow and some sort of plastic bag.

"This is fancy," she purred appreciatively as she joined Daryl who was staring out of the window. The binoculars had infrared night vision which made it a lot easier to see through the darkness. "Makes me feel all G.I. Jane."

The comment earned her a smirk from Daryl, which luckily for him, she didn't notice. "Gotta step outside," he whispered next to her, "the windows are too damn dirty," he complained as he opened the door and walked out to the surrounding balcony.

"I know things which are way dirtier," Madeleine commented as she followed Daryl outside and heard him choke on her words. _Worse than a teenager_ , Mady smirked.

Outside, they stood leaning against the guard-rail looking off into the darkness, both with their binoculars.

"Sooo," Mady droned after they had been silent for over twenty minutes, which truth to be told, made her rather uncomfortable. "What's your blood type?" She popped the question out the blue.

"My blood type," Daryl repeated, stunned at her peculiar choice of question.

"Just trying to make some conversation here," she defended herself, "you do not seem to be much of a talker."

"O negative," he replied, still looking through his binoculars.

"Damn, you're a universal donor. I'm AB positive, in case you were wondering," she informed him in a conversational voice.

"I wasn't," he said curtly.

From the corner of his eye he could see Madeleine frowning which made him laugh.

"Glad to amuse you," she grunted, still rebuffed by his reply. "What are we looking for, anyway," she inquired as she now adjusted her binoculars.

"Herds of walkers, cars, anythin'," he vaguely replied, still not paying her much attention which was starting to irritate Madeleine quite a bit.

They talked a bit after that, or rather Mady talked and forced him to reply. When she asked how his wound was, he said that Hershel had stitched it up yesterday and that it wasn't something to worry about. It went on like this for a while, Madeleine asking all the questions and Daryl giving short replies.

"Why d'ya always wear dresses," he asked her as she was about to speak. His question seemed to take her aback because she took a few seconds before replying.

"Live and die at your finest," she replied, not looking at him as if there was more to it than she was willing to say.

Daryl was about to comment when she suddenly started to look around for something inside her cross body. "Here," she said, handing him a small package, "figured you might like them."

He dubiously took the small package from her hands, seeing that they were in fact cigarettes. "Thanks," he muttered, surprised by her kind gesture as he took a lighter from his pocket and proceeded to light one of the cigarettes.

"Did you get _me_ some flowers," she cooed as she looked at him inhaling the sweet poison. _Damn, he can make even the most disgusting of habits look hot,_ Madeleine meditated.

"The bag next to crossbow," he drawled in between smokes.

Madeleine immediately went back inside. She wouldn't admit it, but she would be extremely surprised if had really gotten her flowers.

When she grabbed the bag, she noticed at once that there weren't any flowers but the content was even better. Berries!

"Thank you," she said once she was back on the balcony. Madeleine then held the guard-rail for support as she went tiptoe and brushed a light kiss on Daryl's left cheek before moving b distancing herself from him again. He felt uncomfortable at her gesture, not used to that kind of behaviour.

They both went back to watching the woods surrounding the prison, their silence only broken by his smoking and her eating.

"Why d'ya like these damn berries so much," he asked, this time turning around to look at her.

She was very small but she clearly didn't look like a child. Apart from her size, her body was the one of an adult woman. Her long, brown hair was fluttering slightly in the wind. _Yer growing too damn soft_ , Daryl reprimanded himself.

"That's a funny story," she admitted, as a smile crept over her lips and she turned to him. "See, I always liked candy," Madeleine told, "Always had candy in my bag and everything. My boss was always complaining about my habit, saying that it would ruin my body," she scoffed. "But then shit happened and since I can't find candy anywhere anymore, gotta replace it with berries."

"Why woul' yer boss mind that?" He questioned, perplexed as a frown obscured his face.

"I was a stripper," she blurted out, looking all serious. Daryl immediately started laughing beside her, clearly not believing ti. "No, seriously," she furthered, "I really was a stripper."

"Ya?!" He exclaimed, still laughing, "no way ya coul' have been a stripper!"

"Why," she teased, "Is my body not good enough," Mady sassed and she saw as his cheeks immediately grew red.

"That's, no," he stuttered, looking all embarrassed. It was a funny sight, Madeleine thought, seeing someone like him all flustered. _And rather cute, as well,_ she mused. _  
_"I didn't-", he continued but he was interrupted when Madeleine walked closer to him, looking playful.

Mady stood on the tip of her toes and tousled his hair, a side grin illuminating her face, "I know," she simply whispered, the corner of her lips still turned upwards. Her hand then slid down his cheek and he could feel her breath against his skin. She had this malicious look on her face, the one women always have when they know they're in power.

She let her thumb brush over his cheekbones and he froze under her touch, his breathing stopping...

"Hey guys," someone suddenly yelled as they opened the trap door. "We're here to take over watch," Maggie announced as she stepped inside the room and Glenn came out of the trap after her. The Greene girl saw how close Daryl and Madeleine were standing and became all mischievous, poking Glenn on the ribs.

At once, Daryl moved away from Madeleine, looking extremely uncomfortable which made Mady scoff. _He was so damn shy!_

"Great, I was getting really tired," Madeleine exclaimed and pulled off a very fake yawn. Glenn was looking at the both of them, looking very confused while Daryl just eyed her from the corner of his eye, wondering what the hell she was doing.

He then made his way towards the trap door while pointedly avoiding looking at the intruders. Madeleine silently followed him but she couldn't evade the knowing smile Maggie sported.

As Madeleine started descending through the trap door, she saw the short haired woman wiggling her eyebrows and Glenn finally caught on, grinning like an idiot.

"Have a good night," Maggie shouted as Madeleine was halfway trough the ladder and she heard Daryl choke beneath her.

Their walk back to cell block C was quick, Daryl walked some steps ahead of her and Madeleine almost had to run to keep up with him. _Well, this is awkward_ , Mady thought sarcastically.

However, he slowed down when they got inside, probably trying not to wake up the others. Madeleine instantly became aware of the swiftness he moved with, which was rather surprising considering his stature. Mady, however, couldn't avoid the clicking noise the heels of her boots made when they touched the floor.

He went upstairs and Madeleine followed him close behind now. However, he stopped short on his feet when he opened the perch's door and saw Mady's handiwork.

"What the hell's this?!" He hissed, looking at Madeleine, instantly knowing that she was the culprit.

She felt quite insulted that he didn't recognize what it was. "It's not that difficult to see," she pouted, crossing her arms.

As he was still looking at her like she had grown a second head, she decided to state the obvious. "It's a bed," she said, "I just forgot the mattresses," she added after a few seconds, her voice lower and disappeared.

When she was back, she was difficultly carrying two mattresses that she had found in one of the unoccupied cells. "Here," she declared, once she hazardously managed to throw both mattresses over the makeshift bed, making a shitload of noise in the process which angered Daryl. Sighing contently, she sat down on the right mattress.

"See, I made you a bed out of the goodness of my heart," she whispered, sarcasm heavy in her voice as Daryl was still looking all grumpy, his arms crossed over his chest. "The least you could do is say thank you," she added bitterly.

"Well, thanks," he grumbled, still not making a move towards the bed. Madeleine was about to ask what his problem was, when she guessed it.

"Oh, I'm not leaving," she indicated, grinning mischievously, "So if you want to sleep on a comfy bed," she drawled, as she let her hands stoke the mattress, "you'll have to put up with me," she finished, eyeing him up and down, grinning as she saw how rigid he was standing there.

 **Don't forget to review ;)**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry for having taken so long but college has been keeping me very busy and I had some trouble with this chapter. I knew exactly what I wanted to write, just didn't find the words (especially since I'm not a native English speaker) which explains why I'm not happy about this chapter.**  
 **Also, when I wrote in the first chapter that my OC had only moved to Florida two years ago, I meant two years before the outbreak not two years from where they are now.**

 **I hope you enjoy this, and please review :)**

"The fuck is this," Madeleine grumbled groggily as she woke up. It was still very early, no later than six o'clock. She was blinded by the sunlight the moment she opened her eyes and immediately hid her face beneath her forearm to stop the light. As she was drifting back to sleep, she heard once again the sound that had woken her up.

Snoring. Daryl was snoring. Loudly.

Uncovering her face, she let herself get accustomed to the light before turning around and smacking Daryl with the back of her hand.

He jerked up at once, looking startled like a deer caught in the headlights. This sight was enough to make Madeleine chuckle even though she was still pissed at having been woken up this early.

"The hell was that for," he groaned as rubbed his eyes.

Mady didn't answer right away, instead she propped her face on her elbow, stretching out her legs. She was eyeing him for a long time; noticing how peaceful and even innocent his face looked before being confronted with the shit going on around them, how tousled his hair was, how muscular his arms were…

"You were snoring," she replied, cutting her inappropriate thoughts short, "it woke me up."

"Ma nose's stuffed," he explained, his voice sounding tired, "only fell asleep an hour ago."

"Poor baby," Madeleine mocked him as she sat up, still in her sleeping bag. "Perhaps if you didn't cut the sleeves off your shirt, especially when taking watch, you wouldn't be in this predicament," she taunted. In his defense, he really did look rather ill, his eyes were red and the dark circles under his eyes were more pronounced than usually. He still looked hot, though.

"It ain't my damn fault, woman," he replied, defending himself. Daryl was freezing and burning at the same time, he couldn't remember the last time he had been sick. Probably before his mother let the house burn down.

Madeleine was rummaging through her suitcase and threw him a pack of tissues which he caught, thankful. She grabbed some clothes before standing up and making her way to the door.

"What are ya doing," Daryl asked, confused by her behavior. She was no longer wearing the pink pajamas, instead, she now sported some black satin pajamas. _Even in the apocalypse, she managed to look like the damn First Lady…_

"There's no way I'll get back to sleep now, so I might as well do something productive," she said as she opened the door and stepped out. "Try to get some rest, you look like shit," Madeleine whispered as she closed the door behind herself and missed Daryl's surprised look.

She got dressed in the bathroom and when she got back to the common room next to cell block C, Carol was already there.

"You're up early," the middle-aged woman stated as she looked through their stock of food before deciding what she would do for breakfast.

"Daryl's ill, woke me up," she yawned, quickly covering her mouth with the back of her hand. "What can I help you with?"

"Well," Carol started, surprised she was willing to help her, "it's still too early for breakfast so we can start with the laundry," she offered.

"Sounds great," Mady replied sarcastically and Carol repressed a grin.

They had heated some water and were now washing dirty clothes people had brought, in the two basins the group had found some weeks ago and soap bars they had brought back in one of their supply runs.

Carol saw how Madeleine struggled when wringing some garments and couldn't repress a chuckle, "You are not very good at this, are you?"

Mady snorted in amusement, "Nope. We had someone who would do this for us, besides we used washing machines," she explained, as she started rubbing some soap on a pair of very distressed looking jeans, immediately recognizing who they belonged to.

"He should get some new clothes," she scoffed and was surprised when a grin crept over her lips. _I'm getting too damn soft_ , Madeleine thought as she shook her head, getting rid of her thoughts.

"I already told him," Carol smiled, "He's just so very picky when it comes to clothes," she explains and they both laugh. _Who would have thought that Mister Survivor cared about clothes?!_

They went on with their task, and once they were done, Madeleine hung the clothes on wires that were spread across the room and Carol started breakfast.

"Who were you before this happened," the short haired woman asked after a while.

"Does that even matter now," she replied, as she stood on the tip of toes in order to reach the wires.

"I think it does," Carol simply stated and Madeleine decided to reply. So much time had gone by, she was no longer sure she remembered who she even was.

"I was a college student," the light brown haired woman explained, "forensic science," she clarified.

"Sounds fun," Carol encouraged, thinking about her own daughter who could have grown to be someone like Madeleine if the world hadn't broken.

"Nah, it sounds boring," Mady joked, trying to lighten up the mood when she saw the sad look on Carol's face. "However," she smirked, lowering her voice, "I was rebellious, became a real party queen."

It worked, Carol brightened up, "Must have driven your mother crazy," she teased, a twinkle in her eyes.

"Not really, I started after she died," she answered and Carol gave her a comforting smile, "I did drive my granddad crazy and my father afterwards, too," she was telling the truth, but her voice seemed as if she was joking. That was typical of Madeleine, she didn't like to dwell on the bad things and always covered her sorrow with inappropriate humor.

Time went by quickly and people slowly started filling up in the common room, eating breakfast. Madeleine sat with Carol who told her about her violent husband and Sophia, and how she lost both of them. Mady was starting to like this woman, she might have looked like a common housewife but she certainly had grown a hell lot stronger after shit had hit the fan.

When they were done, Carol filled another plate with food and placed it on a tablet along with some water.

"What's that for," Madeleine asked as she watched Carol do it.

"It's for Daryl, he'll be hungry when he wakes up," she explained and Madeleine nodded. _She's very thoughtful when it comes to Daryl, wonder why that is…_

Carol then pushed the tablet towards her, and Mady gave her a confused look.

"You bring it up to him," she smiled, her eyes looking mischievous, like she knew something more than Madeleine did.

"No, way. No," Madeleine retorted, as she crossed her arms over her chest, looking like an unhappy child.

However, Carol narrowed her eyes, looking stern and even though she wouldn't willingly admit it, this woman really scared Madeleine.

"Fine," she exclaimed, standing up and grabbing the tablet, "But you owe me!"

When she reached the door that opened to the perch, she realized that she wouldn't be able to knock.

"Oh well," she sighed as she used the curve of her butt to turn the handle. As the door opened, she was met with an unexpected sight.

Daryl was standing up, his back turned towards her. It was muscular yet lean, some tattoo adorning the right side of his back. The rest of the skin, however, sported old looking scars who still looked scary even though they were healed. There was one particular scar on the left, however, that immediately caught her eye: it was smaller than the others and looked recent.

"Nice tats," Madeleine teased him, and he turned around at once, looking flustered and angry.

"Ya should 'ave knocked," he almost screamed at her as he quickly put on a clean shirt, covering himself up.

"My hands were full," Madeleine stated, her voice neutral and she placed the tablet on the mattress. "Carol made you some breakfast."

He didn't respond, in fact, he was still looking highly uncomfortable which was obvious by the rigid way he was standing, avoiding Madeleine's gaze.

She noticed this too and decided it was better to leave him alone, rather than to press the subject further.

"Carol told me she would talk to Rick so that you can be dispensed from your duties today," Mady informed him and Daryl merely grunted his reply.

As she was about to leave, she decided to add something. "Daryl," she called him and he actually turned to face her, his deep blue eyes taking Madeleine aback, "scars are beautiful too, it means you survived," Mady whispered but she was sure that he had heard her.

She then left, silently closing the door.

The rest of the day passed in a hurry considering that she was on fence duty again, with Michonne and Carol this time. The latter actually started gossiping about some people, including Tyreese who seemed to have a crush on some woman called Karen. It seemed so odd to gossip while simultaneously stabbing walkers but it was delightful and after a while, even Michonne joined in, joking about how she had found Glenn and Maggie in a rather compromising position a few days ago.

"So," Michonne drawled, "how is it to sleep next to Mr. Dixon," she teased Madeleine, whose face immediately turned red while her dagger still was inside the skull of a walker.

Carol choked on Michonne's words but couldn't help a side grin when she saw how embarrassed Mady looked.

"Well, he's always grumpy," she complained, pointedly avoiding Michonne's gaze. _I didn't know his last name was Dixon, interesting information_ , Madeleine pondered.

"Well," the katana woman started in a teasing voice, Mady already afraid of what was to come, "perhaps if the both of you did something else than sleep, he'd be less grumpy," she taunted and Madeleine's cheeks felt so warm she thought they might be on fire.

Carol actually started laughing so hard that her knife fell from her grip.

The rest of the afternoon passed quickly thanks to their lively conversations and as dinner time was approaching and the crowd of walkers thinning, Carol decided it was enough for today.

"Wonder what I'll do for dinner," she said as they made their way back inside. The young woman thought that is was rather unfair that Carol was always in charge for the meals even though she seemed to enjoy and was helped by other people.

"I have an idea," Madeleine announced, "you go back inside, I'll be right back."

She opened the boot of her car and quickly found one of the bags she had been looking for. Madeleine didn't actually leave her home in a hurry. After shit had hit the fan, she barricaded herself inside her mansion for many weeks, only going out once to raid a gunsmith and an organic food store. She took everything that fit inside the car and being a single person, she still had a lot of food left.

As she was about to close the trunk, she noticed a familiar black sports bag. She almost went for it but stopped at the last second, the tip of her fingers almost touching the fabric. She bit her lips, thinking about what was inside and Madeleine now noticed how much she had actually missed it since arriving at the prison two days ago.

"I'll come back for you tonight, old friend," she promised, her voice barely a whisper as she shut down the boot.

Carol was thrilled when she saw the amount of food Madeleine had brought in and immediately decided to use the mushrooms. Rick and Hershel had started cultivating an orchard but it was not yet enough to feed their group without outside help.

Dinner passed quickly for Madeleine who sat between Michonne and Carol. The sword lady was going out again tomorrow, all on her own. Ever since the Governor had attacked the prison, she had started tracking him in an intense desire to avenge Andrea's death. Carol told her that Daryl would sometimes accompany Michonne in her hunt.

"I mean, I get why you want to hunt him down," Madeleine stated in between bites, "But why would Daryl want to do it as well?"

"Daryl's brother, Merle, died because of the Governor," Carol explained, a saddened look on her face.

Both Carol and Michonne went silent after that and Madeleine decided not to press the subject further. She guessed the Governor thing was a touchy subject for all of them.

After everyone was done eating, Mady stayed back and helped some people clean the dishes while the majority was already heading inside.

"You're not coming," Karen asked once they had finished their task.

"Nah," she replied, waving her hand dismissively, "I got things to do, stuff."

Maggie had told her that Rick used to talk like this, being all vague and Madeleine found it really funny, coming from someone like him.

When everyone had gone back inside, Madeleine walked towards her car, humming slightly.

She opened the boot, took the bag and retrieved a bottle of champagne. It wasn't cold enough, but it would have to do.

She popped the cork, making as little noise as possible and sat on the ground, leaning her back against one of the car's tires.

"This is for Elisabeth, Caroline, Michael, Gareth" she whispered, raising the bottle in front of her and watching it shine under the moon, "and all the other people whose names I can't remember anymore," she finished, her voice cracking under the emotion before taking a large sip.

Before the outbreak, Madeleine had never drunk alone. She had had her first alcoholic beverage at her sweet sixteen party with her mother's agreement and even encouragement. Anne-Marie was French and had wanted her daughter to grow as a Frenchwoman and that included having her first drink at sixteen as was usual in Europe.

After her mother's death, Madeleine and her friends started throwing parties with all sorts of alcohol. They couldn't really drink in bars and clubs considering that Mady had only turned 21 some weeks after the outbreak. Her grandpa wasn't aware of it and her friends' parents didn't care all that much either, most of them were more absent than present and they compensated this with expensive gifts.

Madeleine's mom hadn't been like that, in fact Mady now remembered, she used to ask her mom to get off her back and to-

"What are ya doing 'ere?" Someone asked, startling Madeleine who choked on her champagne and Daryl sat down next to her, hitting her back gently.

"I hate you," she coughed, her voice still raw from the choking incident. She rubbed her throat gently, warming it up to dissipate the feeling that is always left after choking on something.

He didn't acknowledge her reply, grabbing a cigarette instead and lighting it.

"Didn't take ya for a drinker," he admitted after a while.

"That's because I'm not," she defended herself, pointedly avoiding looking at him which was rather easy considering that he was sitting next to her and that the moonlight wasn't very bright that night.

"That's what they all say."

"Alright, listen up dude," Madeleine vociferated, turning towards and he did the same, probably to tell her to stop calling him that but she didn't give him the chance. "I know you came from a shitty place before shit hit the fan but that doesn't mean everybody is just as fucked up."

This shut him up, the cigarette balanced between his index and middle fingers, consummating itself slowly as he didn't bring it back to lips for a few minutes at least. He turned away from Madeleine but didn't move, staring absentmindedly into the night.

As Mady now reached the lower half of the bottle, guilt was starting to build up inside her. Granted he had pissed her off, but her reaction had been uncalled for.

"You should go back inside," she murmured, "or you'll be even more sick tomorrow."

"I'm fine," Daryl grunted, "and Carol doesn't let me smoke inside 'cause of them kids," he expanded.

"I'm sorry, for earlier," Madeleine apologized, leaning towards Daryl. The tip of his nose was red due to the cold he had caught, his hair was disheveled as always and-

"Oh my god," she yelled, getting up on her feet, "you are so damn stupid, you know that!"

Moments after Madeleine opened the car door, she threw a poncho at Daryl's face, catching him off guard. As he freed himself from the garment, he looked at her questioningly still wondering what that was all about.

"You're already sick, don't make it worse," she shrugged and sat back down next to him. He sighed but put on the poncho nonetheless, feeling ridiculous until he noticed that it smelled of her which made the piece of clothing infinitely more comfortable for him.

"See, you're all pretty now," Madeleine joked, poking him on the ribs and he had to fight really hard not to look amused. He wasn't used for people to take care of him, except for Carol, but then again she was the most caring person he knew.

"Why champagne," he asked her as he saw her empty the last remains of the bottle and lay in on the grass next to her.

"I was going to throw party at my place when shit hit the fan," she answered, sporting a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "The only thing that had already arrived when the outbreak started was the obnoxiously large number of boxes containing this wonderful elixir," she laughed silently and Daryl stared at her like she was the damn weirdest thing he had even seen in his entire life.

"Ya were a party girl," he stated rather than wondered as he noticed that there might more to her than catches the eye. He had already been surprised the previous night when she had told him that she used to be a stripper, something he would never have guessed about her.

"Damn yes, I was," she taunted, leaning towards him, "got into some serious shit, too." He looked as if he was truly enjoying their conversation and Madeleine decided to stretch her luck further, "Were you a troublemaker, too?"

Her question threw him off guard and he wasn't sure why he should even open up to her. She was a total stranger, he had met her in the woods barely a few days ago, for god's sake. "I won't tell if you don't," she whispered in his ear and Daryl thought that considering him what he knew about her, she probably wouldnt judge him.

She was looking all smug, sitting cross legged on the ground like a child who got to hear one more story before going to bed.

"I was with ma brotha once," Daryl started, licking his lips which did not go unnoticed by Madeleine, "he used to have a dealer, ya know. We were in a parkin' lot one night, they were doin' some stuff and I just stood with them, smokin', not really payin' attention, and then the cops just came-"

"Shit," she exclaimed excitedly, "what did you do?" She was biting her thumb nail, staring at him like she was actually captivated by what he was saying. _No one's ever looked at me like this before, especially not someone like her_ , Daryl reflected and he couldn't help but feel a bit self-conscious yet happy at the same time.

Her skin was extremely pale under the moonlight and a light breeze made her hair flutter around her face. It was chilly but she wasn't shivering even though she was wearing no jacket over her dress.

"I just ran away," Daryl deadpanned and Mady's disappointed face made him chuckle. "I just ran as long as I could, Merle right behind me."

"What a disappointing ending to your story," she teased him, sticking her tongue out, laughing at his reaction.

"Alrigh' smartass," he taunted back. As he spoke, he realized that he was not used to talking to someone like that. They were joking around but there seemed to be something more than just that, it was almost as if he wanted to impress her. "If ya got a better story, spit it out."

"Listen up badass," she mocks, not even slightly perturbed by his tone, "So, once I went out with my friends to a restaurant and we were all having fun until Caroline's boyfriend came in with some bitch that most definitely was not Caroline." Her tone was light and she was gesturing with her hands, making those funny faces and to Daryl, she just seemed so full of life in a place of death. "They were not alone, there were like six other people with them and there was just three of us. Caroline wanted to make a scene but I told her that we should eat first- Why are you laughing," she blurts out, throwing her hands in the air in frustration.

"'Cause yer priorities are damn weird," he laughed as he lighted another cigarette and she smiled at him before continuing her story.

"Food will always come first," she winked and he felt himself blushing, not sure what game Madeleine was playing. "So then, when we were done eating, the bitch and her female friends went outside to have a smoke and we just followed them. Then shit went crazy, everyone was hitting everyone and I had my high heels in my hands, about to hit the hell out of bitch number two who had just ripped out some of my hair when Caroline opened her coat and took out a knife. A fucking butter knife."

"Yer all crazy," he groaned, shaking his head in disbelief, genuinely amused.

Madeleine laughed, throwing her head back, "Wait till you find out just how crazy I am," she purred, getting all serious once again, looking straight into Daryl's deep blue eyes. "Anyway, someone called the cops. We all got arrested even though it was just a random fight and one butter knife."

Daryl's face cracked up and the mood was light yet teasing after the story. They just went on telling each other their crazy stories: how Daryl got lost in the woods for nine days, how she got suspended from high school a long time ago, how he and Merle got in a fight with a dealer and he ended up throwing up after being punched in the stomach…

The stories they shared made Daryl feel as if there was in common between them than he had previously thought. He always felt ashamed talking about his previous life to Carol or Rick because they had always been proper American citizens and he had just been the typical redneck. But hearing Madeleine's stories, who by the sound of it hadn't always abided by the law, made him feel closer to her than anyone else in his group.

"About earlier," she mentioned after a while, "I meant what I said about the scars, you are a survivor," she murmured.

"We all are," he gruffly replies, avowing her gaze. Being able to go on in this world made all of them survivors.

"Some have got more badass scars than others, though," she whispered, a contagious smile in her voice.

He looked back at her, his hair partially hiding his face and he really looked like a survivor at that moment, like someone who had not just lived but also survived and his scars were merely the proof of the that. There was a moment between the two of them, were they just eyed each other, Daryl looking shy, as his cheeks slightly reddened and Madeleine was just observing him before a smirk came up in her face.

They were sitting rather close to each other and Madeleine leaned towards him, knowing there was no way he would do the first move. When their faces were close, she noticed how his lips were slightly parted and she could literally hear his heart beating. _Well, well, well, it is not just me_ , she contemplated as her smirk grew wider.

As she leaned even closer, she was sure that he could feel her breath against his skin but he didn't move away. Madeleine let her lips brush over the corner of his mouth and she could feel him tense but stay put and she decided to just go for it, turning her head lightly so that her lips were now against his.

She was afraid he wouldn't react or worse, that he would move back, but instead, the hand that had previously held his cigarette moved up and cupped the back of her head.

Reassured, Madeleine's fingers traced his jawline, marveling at its sharpness. Their kiss grew bolder and she nibbled on his lower lip, making him groan. She scooted even closer towards him, almost sitting on his lap as she moved her other hand to his neck and felt him shiver under her touch.

"You should go inside," she breathed against his ear as she slowly ended their kiss, her heart beating frantically.

"What?" Daryl wondered confused, his eyes still partially closed and his voice raspy.

Madeleine was amused by his reaction but still moved away from him, playfully tapping him on his upper thigh which made him draw a rushed breath. "You are sick and cold. You shouldn't be outside, it's chilly," she explained, licking his taste off her lips. It was a mixture of cigarettes and something Madeleine could only describe as raw nature.

He looked as if he was about to say something, but Madeleine narrowed her eyes at him the way Carol had done this morning and Daryl who had been moving closer, immediately stilled in his movements.

"You're not coming," he asked, his voice barely more than a whisper and Madeleine couldn't help but grin, feeling giddy that she wasn't the only who had enjoyed their make-out session.

"Nope," she replied, popping the 'p' and he gave her a disappointed look. "I still have things to do and besides, it's going to be all awkward between us now," she attempted at joking, sticking her tongue out as he got up.

He looked back at her like he wanted to say or do something but he didn't know what, so he just started moving back towards the prison when something slapped his butt and he heard someone giggle behind him.

"This makes date number two," she winked at him and he shook his head, praying that his hair would hide his blushing.

As he walked away, he couldn't stop himself from thinking about what had just happened and a smile crept over his face as he thought back about their kiss. _Just hope I won't run into Rick or Michonne on my way back, they wouldn't ever let me forget it if they saw the state I'm in right now_ , he thought as he opened the door to cell block C.

When Daryl left her sight, she grabbed the second bottle of champagne she had hidden under the car and popped it open, quickly drowning it.

She grinned as thought back to what had happened moments ago. _Well, he isn't so damn shy after all_ , she joked with herself. It was a habit she had grown into after having spent almost a year locked inside her house with champagne as her sole company.

She raised the bottle like she had done with the previous one and whispered, "to all those who aren't dead," before she tipped the bottle back towards her lips and drank it empty. One year ago she would have been tipsy after just one glass, nowadays, one bottle didn't even feel like anything…

Flashback

"So, what are you doing," Gareth asks, his voice all teasing through the phone.

"Trying to put all the champagne inside the fridges," she replies, balancing the phone between her shoulder and her ear as she tries to fit one more bottle inside the already full fridge.

"With or without clothes?"

"Gareth," she reprimands as the bottle falls from its precarious position and breaks in a million pieces on the floor, "I just broke a damn bottle because of you," she says, staring at the mess and wondering how she would clean it _. Shouldn't have sent Ms Carrie home for the holidays after all_ , she reflects as she tries to remember where they even have their cleaning things.

She hears him laugh over the phone before he speaks again, "Don't forget to put one in your bedroom so that we can-"

"Gareth!"

"I know, I know, we're not a couple, you're not girlfriend material and we'll never be together," he repeats the words she has so often told the med student when her phone rings, signaling another call.

"I gotta hang up, my dad's calling," she explains quickly before clicking on the red icon on her screen and takes her father's call.

"Hey dad-", she chants in her sweetest voice.

"Whatever you do, do not leave the house!"


	5. Chapter 5

"Whatever you do, do not leave the house!"

"Dad?" She replies, her voice unsure after hearing his panicked order.

There is no reply, only the weird sounds you get when you are on the phone and drive through a tunnel. She is clenching her phone in her hands, her knuckles turning white and crying, her tears ruining her fresh make up.

"Turn on the news for once, Madeleine," his exasperated voice comes through the line again. "I'm coming back. I'll find a plane or something, but until then, you stay put and barricade yourself-"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Madeleine screams into her phone, worried about her father's words. _What the hell is going on in Las Vegas?!_

"I love you, Mads," he yells before there is a loud strangled sound coming through and the call ends.

She stays there, clenching her phone for a really long time, thinking that perhaps he would call back but when the minutes turn into a full hour, she gives up and turns on the TV.

No matter what channel she picks, the same stories and videos keep on playing. There are sequences of people eating other people, of people screaming in the streets grabbing their bitten necks…

"Right now, this epidemic seems to be worse in densely populated areas. We recommend you to stay far from the big cities like New York, Las Vegas, Chicago, Atlanta…" The news reporter goes on, listing the places that seem to be most dangerous but Madeleine turns off the TV and chuckles.

"Great prank, dad, I'll give you that," she laughs as she grabs her keys and makes her way into the garage and clicks her car open. "But I am not as stupid as to believe in zombies," she whispers, amused.

Alexander McAllister was a known prank- and jokester. For instance, he had told her daughter a few weeks ago that she wouldn't be getting anything for her birthday seeing as her behavior wasn't exactly exemplary but Madeleine had long since spotted a new and covered car in the garage with a big red bow on it. "Two more weeks and you'll be mine," she purrs looking at the Porsche and blows a kiss at it.

Right now, she would be driving into town. She had an appointment with her esthetician and her father's joke had made her run a bit late.

She drove the car through the road surrounded by acres and acres of vineyards and some fruit trees including peaches, oranges and some apples that never turned out quite right because lets face it: Florida weather was too warm for apples.

If there had ever been anything in common between her mom and her dad, it was that they both only ever ate organic food which explained why her dad liked to grow his own fruit.

As she reaches the gates, she takes her remote and opens them without leaving the car.

The streets are quiet and the surrounding nature is peaceful as always, you can hear the birds singing and the other animals doing whatever noises they do.

She doesn't like it here in Florida, she never did. Chicago was way better but now she was stuck here until she graduated.

As she reaches town, she immediately notices a slightly putrid smell that lingers in the air. "It must be because of this damn heat," she curses as she parks her car in front of the beauty parlor.

There were almost no other cars in the streets which was incredibly weird. She thought first that it might be because of spring break, but seeing as we are in Florida it should be a reason for there to be even more cars here.

There are people walking the streets. They seem crunched down, however, and by their pace, they are probably tired because of the warmth. _I hate this heat, too_ , Madeleine silently agrees before grabbing her keys and phone in her hands and leaving the blissful air conditioned air of the car.

When she reaches the door, there is nobody there to open it which is peculiar considering that there is always a doorman. Madeleine shrugs it off and stretches her hand out to open the door but it's closed. She tries again more forcefully but the door won't budge.

Suddenly, there is a hand on her shoulder. "It's not very polite to touch people like that," she haughtily chastises whoever is standing behind her before turning around and facing them.

Madeleine notices at once that the person stinks immensely but she doesn't mention it out of politeness. However, as she really stares at the person, she is startled by their appearance: their clothes are torn, their lips seem to have retracted considering the amount of teeth the person is displaying and they are extremely ugly. But most of all, the woman is making groaning and whistling sounds as if she is having problems breathing.

Her fingers are digging forcefully into Madeleine's shoulders and the woman is now making some seriously annoying clicking sounds with her jaw as her face comes closer to Madeleine's.

"Please let go, you are importuning me," Madeleine tries saying it in a calm voice but she can't hide its cracking at the edges. This lady is really making her uncomfortable.

As she stands there thinking about whether or not she should call the police, the woman jumps at her and Madeleine falls to the ground.

"What the hell?!" Madeleine curses as the woman's face comes closer to her collarbone. She tries to push her away, but as Mady's fingers touch her head, her fingers seem to dig in into the woman's waxy skin. She keeps pushing her away but the skin rips, displaying the woman's skull bone as her skin hangs loosely around her temple.

The sight in front of her makes Madeleine extremely happy that she chose to study forensic sciences because she was sure that she would be puking otherwise.

The woman, or rather the thing, keeps digging her fingers into Madeleine's sides and the clicking sounds of its jaw is getting uncomfortably close to Mady's ears.

She is panicking and breathing so heavily that her the rising movements of her chest are strong enough to rock the woman draped over her up and down. She would have laughed at the sight on any other day, but right now she is panicking and her brain can't focus on some funny sight.

Suddenly Madeleine remembers having her keys with her and her right hand quickly reaches towards the ground around her. She finds them at once, and without looking, she singles out the longest key out of the set.

She raises her hand towards the woman's skull, which is pretty much anything she can reach, and stabs it forcefully with the key. She is surprised at how easy it was to force the key through the skull as the 'thing' goes limp and falls over her.

"It wasn't a joke," Madeleine whispers, strangled by the zombie's weight.

I fell asleep against the car that night and only woke up in the morning as the people started their jobs around the prison. I hid the bottles inside the car because I really didn't need anyone else knowing about it. I wasn't ashamed of my actions, after all, I stayed all alone in my house for a year, desperately hoping my father would come and that this outbreak would stop. He never came back, it never stopped and I went on drinking. _So what?!_

As I get inside, Carol and Rick immediately notice that there is something unusual about me but they don't point it out. I'm not exactly hangover, I'm way past the stage where a couple of bottles would have that effect but my throat is feeling uncomfortably dry and my nose is slightly congested.

Everybody else is already going on about their daily tasks and I soon join them after eating breakfast and getting cleaned up. I really didn't want anyone to smell the alcohol on me as that would only raise more questions.

When I joined her, Maggie asked me if I was alright and I replied with the positive. Truth be told, I thought I might have caught a cold but hell would freeze over before I admitted that.

After the day's work, at dinner, everyone was in a joyful mood because it was exactly ten days since anyone had died and they all thought it was a cause to celebrate. The way I saw it, it meant that someone had died merely eleven days ago but I guess it's all just a question of perspective.

They all seemed to be having fun and Maggie even tried to get me to dance but I politely refused. Before the outbreak, I would probably have been there, on the makeshift 'dance floor' showing off my moves that I had learned at my job but now, especially after having spent most of my night reminiscing all the things and people that I had lost, all the people that I would never see again, I wasn't really in the mood, my reputation be damned.

After a while, Bob, a new guy that the group had found that day, came sit next to me and started talking. He was very cheerful but I guess that had more to do with the lingering scent of alcohol that he sported than with the actual celebration.

"Why aren't you celebrating like them," he asked me as gestured towards the mass of people gathered in what I now called the common room.

"Oh, I'm cheerful most of the time, you just caught me on a bad day," I replied, trying hard to stay polite because the etiquette classes I had had as a kid had to at least pay off for something.

"The way I see it, you had a bad day but it's already night. No reason to waste a perfectly good night," he said, smiling at me like he really believed what he was saying.

"Alright, why are you so damn cheerful," I faced him, my voice teasing as his grin just got wider.

"Because I was alone this morning and tonight I am surrounded by lots of people," he explained as his eyes drifted towards the crowd and stayed fixed on Sasha longer than on anyone else.

"I would be careful with her, she doesn't seem to be particularly lovey-dovey," I joked.

"Oh I know that, but I believe that the hardest it is to crack the coconut, the tastier the juice will be," he laughed and playfully bumped my shoulder.

"You're super weird, you know that," I laughed but decided to follow his advice anyway and joined the crowd.

Beth grabbed my hand at once and dragged me to the center where Maggie was dancing and Glenn staring at her dumbfounded. It was one of the funniest sights I had ever witnessed and my mood lifted considerably after that.

An hour later, I had joined Maggie in her dancing. There wasn't any music but the chitchat around us made enough of a background sound to pretend there actually was some music. We were moving our hips to the imaginary music in our heads and I was teaching Maggie some of the moves I knew from my performances.

The crowd was slightly thinning and I could now see Daryl leaning against a wall, chatting with Rick. At his sight, last night's events came flowing into my mind and even though I had been the slightest bit tipsy last night, I certainly didn't regret it. I probably wouldn't have done it if there hadn't been any alcohol in my bloodstream but that was because I never thought Daryl would have kissed me back.

I saw him looking at me and considering last night, I smiled at him and winked. Instead of smiling back, he shook his head and not in a playful manner before turning towards Rick.

I internally shrugged at his behavior. If he was going to act awkward about it, that was his problem, not mine. And so, I kept on having fun for the rest of the night even though his reaction stung more than I would have expected.

That night I went back to my car, emptied two bottles and slept on the backseat. I wasn't avoiding him, I just didn't want anyone to smell the alcohol on me.

He was avoiding me, though. Two whole days had gone by and he kept on ignoring me. And it was bugging me more than I was willing to admit. I had actually enjoyed his company, not that I didn't enjoy being with Maggie or Beth, but I seemed to have more in common with him than anyone else.

Now on day three post party, I was with Carl emptying the car's trunk. The council had decided that the car could be useful when going on runs and should therefore be emptied out. That was the reason why I had spent the previous night gathering my stash inside two duffel bags and hiding them by the 'History' section in the library. I guessed nobody would be interested on finding out more about the French Revolution during a Zombie Apocalypse.

"Why is there men's clothing in this bags," Carl asked, pointing at the two black backpacks in front of him.

"They belonged to the two men I killed," I replied simply, not wanting to expand further. Rick had told me that no one in the council had specifically asked about that incident and that therefore he hadn't been forced to tell the whole story. I was immensely glad about that, I never minded getting attention but pity parties were not my thing.

"I killed someone as well, my dad wasn't happy about it," he confided as he helped me carry the bags inside.

"Better kill than get killed, I guess," I breathed as we put the last two bags in the common room. "Don't tell your father I said that, though," I added as an afterthought.

Carl smiled at me, his eyes hidden beneath the shadow of the sheriff hat. "You're cool. I like you."

"Everybody likes me, I perfect like that," I joked and ruffled his hair. "I guess I like you, too," I said after a while, all joking gone from my voice. Never in a million years had I thought I would someday enjoy some kid's company, but Carl was really awesome even though he was so young.

His face blushed and he quickly excused himself, saying that his father needed help with the orchard.

After he left, I sat down on a chair and stretched out my limbs. Sleeping in or against a car wasn't exactly comfortable and I was definitely starting to feel it. I was about to fall asleep when Beth entered the room, carrying a crying Judith.

"Can you hold her for a moment," Beth asked as she made her way towards me, looking distressed and scrunching her nose.

"Nope, that's not really in my-," I declined but Beth placed the whining Judith on my lap anyways.

"She puked on my hair," the blond haired girl explained, "I'm going to take a shower."

"Can't you just ask someone else," I pleaded as I instinctively grabbed the baby with both hands so that she wouldn't fall.

"Consider it pay back for the bed," Beth yelled over the noise and left me alone with Judith, a look of disbelief plastered on my face.

I was about to get up and get someone else to look after Judith, but she started crying even louder. _Okay, Madeleine, rule number one: No getting up._

I stared at the baby and big blue eyes stared back at me. She was still crying her face off, all wet and I seriously didn't know what to do.

"Please stop crying," I pleaded with Judith but she ignored me and kept on the noise.

I tried to think back to some memory where I had dealt with babies, but the only one that came to mind was when Lydia had her baby and I visited her at the maternity. I didn't even hold the baby, for god's sake!

I slowly placed Judith in a lying position and started rocking my arms ever so slightly. She didn't stop crying and as I was left staring at her weeping face, I silently started crying too.

"What do you want me to do," I whispered at the baby, my voice raw but she didn't reply which I would have considering perfectly normal in any other situation but right now, I was panicking and took her lack of answer as an offense. "Fine, cry all you want, there is nothing I can do anyways," I yelled in despair.

"She's hungry, she needs her formula." I was so startled by the voice that I almost dropped the baby.

"What the fuck, dude," I yelled at Daryl when he finally appeared in front of me, a knowing smile on his face. "I almost dropped mini Grimes!"

He shushed me, putting a finger in front of his lips and stared at me in deep amusement. "No cursin' in front of the baby," he reprimanded.

"You named her little ass kicker," I retorted and he just shrugged his shoulders, not convinced by my argument. Sighing deeply, I spoke in my sweetest voice this time around: "Will you please help me?"

The was his lips twitched I was sure he was about to refuse but then he got up and took the crying baby in arms.

"There is water in the corner, the formula is inside the shelf," he explained as he started rocking Judith in his arms, and the baby's crying lessened a bit. _Asshole_ , I mentally insulted him. _How come he knew how to deal with babies?!_

I tried mixing the water with the formula the best I could before I poured it inside the nursing bottle.

When I was done, I handed Daryl the bottle. I guess it was supposed to be heated, but this was the apocalypse after all. I watched as he carefully fed Judith who immediately went silent.

"How many kids did you have," I asked after observing him for a while. He was older than me, I could bullshit myself all I wanted but he probably had a girlfriend or even a wife before the apocalypse even if his life had apparently been fucked up.

"None," he replied, looking at me confused. "Why yer askin'?"

"Because you certainly know how to deal with babies," I replied, leaning my back against the table and stretching out my legs. In the end, I had managed to find someone to help me with Judith. Take that, Beth!

"Ya obviously didn't have any kids," he stated as Judith finished her bottle and he leaned her against his shoulder, slightly tapping her back.

"That obvious, huh?" I grinned as I thought back to my carefree life before the outbreak. "I never liked kids. Besides, I'm way too young for that."

"I know," he grumbled, his good mood already gone. I was about to speak when I heard a weird sound coming from the baby.

"What the fuck was that," I wondered aloud as I frantically made my way towards Daryl and the baby. "Rick and Carl are so gonna kill me if anything happens to her," I panicked.

"Relax," Daryl smiled, sitting down and placing Judith on his lap. "She just burped," he explained, still smiling at the baby and looking like a complete moron.

"Thank god," I breathed out.

Daryl soon handed me back the baby when he thought that I would be able to care of her now. He left, saying that he had things to do but I knew he was back to avoiding me again.

Oh well, I sighed, at least Beth will be happy with me.

Indeed, I had been right. When Beth came back, I handed Judith back to her.

"Why is she looking so happy," Beth wondered, as she carefully stared at Judith who had a big smile on her face.

"I fed her," I reply nonchalantly, brushing my hands on my thighs and was about to leave.

"I know, that would get her to stop crying but not looking as if she just had the time of her life," Beth shouted after me when I was already walking away.

"I guess I am just that good!"

Later that day, we were having dinner and Beth kept telling everyone about how good I was with babies. They all looked dumbfounded because honestly, who would have thought that Madeleine Clotilde McAllister could handle babies? Well, no one, myself included.

I don't know if Daryl actually heard Beth telling the story or if he just let me take credit for it, but by the end of the meal, everyone was convinced, much to my dismay, that I should sometimes babysit Judith.

I felt Maggie nudging my arm and as I turned towards her, she indicated me to come closer. When I did, she brought her lips closer to my ear. "Alright, you're not bullshitting me. Who took care of Judith?"

I jerked away and dramatically brought my hand to my heart, "My, my, do you really think me that incapable?" Maggie, however, just crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes.

"Okay, okay," I whispered, so that no one else would hear us, "She just kept crying and then I started crying too. Then Daryl appeared and took care of everything," I admitted and I saw her grin.

"Yes, Daryl is talented like that," she replied, jokingly poking me on the ribs. "Don't you ever wonder where else he might also be talented?"

I had been taking a sip when Maggie spoke and as elegantly as I always was, I opened my mouth in disbelief and all the water that had been in my mouth and inside the glass fell poured on my dress.

Everyone stopped their chatter and stared at me. As I previously mentioned, I enjoyed attention, but again this was not exactly the type of attention I enjoyed.

"I'll just go get changed," I whispered, my cheeks feeling incredibly warm as I left the table and went back inside, Maggie following me.

"I'm sorry, but your reaction was priceless," she managed to say when her laughter died off.

"Oh, your reaction will be priceless too when I tell everyone how two nights ago you and Glenn hid behind the garden shed by the orchard and only came out an hour later looking dishelved," I mocked and Maggie's face fell.

"Karma's a bitch, so be careful," I teased as I went inside the perch to change into something dry.

I had the first night shift so I decided to head back outside right after changing. Some people were still talking with each other but most were getting ready for bed.

I climbed the ladder to the top of the watch tower and grabbed one of the sniper gun that was next to the door. We left them here now, this way there was no risk that whoever was taking watch would forget to take a weapon. I tapped Sasha on the shoulder and she smiled at me before wishing me goodnight and leaving through the trap door.

I had been staring at the never ending, surrounding nature for about an hour before the last people headed inside and it became impossibly quiet.

I had to agree with Carol, the world was incredibly quiet now. I never complained about the noise, in fact, it used to be one of my favorite things in Chicago. No matter what time it was, no matter where you were, there was always some background noise which I found very comforting. My mom and I had lived in a penthouse, in a big condo. You could always hear the cars driving by and people talking in the streets. When she died, I lived there alone though the butler lived in his own flat just underneath ours.

Moving to Florida was weird and most importantly quiet, my father's mansion was surrounded by vineyards, the closest neighbours were miles away. And now, I had to face that Georgia was just as quiet and the quietness meant that I was alone with my thoughts and I couldn't deal with them.

After my mother died, I became depressed, went to a psychiatrist. Thrice a week for a year I would be in his office for an hour and every time I would come out feeling even worse. After a while, he gave me some prescription meds. "They will help," he said reassuringly as he handed me the plastic bottle filled with his pills. I thanked him and flushed them down the toilet the very same day. Taking pills would make me feel weak and that's the one thing that I never accepted, not even as a child. I would never admit that I was sick, refused to go to the doctor when it became obvious that I indeed was sick and never accepted help from anyone, even if I was struggling. _Talk about pride_ , I snorted.

"Funny how you rely on alcohol now," I whispered into the void of the night.

Three hours passed and I was yawning when I felt someone climb the ladder. As I looked toward the trap, I immediately recognized Daryl because of the angel wings on his back.

"Ya can go now, I got this," he stated as soon as he came up.

"Why are you avoiding me," I asked, facing the woods. Behind me, I could hear him pick up his crossbow and join me on the border.

"I'm not avoidin' ya," he gruffly replied as he took his last cigarette out of his pocket and lit it.

"My bad, then," I faked cheerfulness as I turned around, ready to get into bed. If he was childish enough to pretend everything alright, then I certainly could be childish enough to let him get away with it.

"Wait," he spoke out as he grabbed my waist with his left hand, the right one holding his cigarette.

I stayed put and when he didn't move his hand, I cleared my throat and he immediately removed his hand, his cheeks pinker than usual.

"'m sorry," he apologized at once and I stayed silent. Not to torment him but because I honestly had nothing to say. "I was avoidin' ya," he admitted.

"Glad we agree on something," I sassed him, staring straight into his eyes, silently challenging him. Instead of holding up his gaze, he stared down.

"Are you gonna tell me what I did wrong," I sighed impatiently seeing as he wasn't exactly keen on speaking.

"Ya never told me yer age," he accused, this time looking at me.

"Well, you never asked," I retorted, crossing my arms over my chest. I really wasn't liking where this conversation was going.

"Yer twenty-one," he blurted out, clearly agitated and I could see him frown, his forehead wrinkling behind some wild strands of hair.

"Geez, thank you," I taunted, "I had almost forgotten my age considering that I no longer need to carry my ID."

"Can ya be serious for once," he drawled in his southern accent, rubbing his eyes. I guess I was pissing him off just as much as he was pissing me off.

"I don't know, can I?" I was really enjoying being myself again. This was me. This was what got me suspended from high school twice, got me into jail once and almost got me killed once too. I had always been a smartass.

"Yer twenty-one," he said once again as he grabbed my wrist, probably trying to make me be serious.

"I know, I can drink legally," I sneered, holding up his gaze. I really didn't know what his problem was. He had seen me drink alcohol but I was twenty-one so there was really nothing wrong with that.

"That's half my age," he explained, gauging my reaction but there wasn't much of a reaction to begin with.

"If you're exactly forty-two, then yes. However, if you're just around that age then what you just said is only an approximation," I simple replied. If I was completely honest, I had to say that I had thought him to be in his late thirties but oh well, it's not like anyone cares about these things nowadays.

"Why are you always like that," he sighed, letting some pressure off my wrists, but still holding them inside one of his large hands.

"Because that's who I am and I'm not going to change anytime soon." He didn't reply so I decided to go on. "Look, I was tipsy the night we kissed but I wasn't drunk. I knew what I was doing and I knew that you were older and it didn't bother me. If it bothers you, then that's your deal and I respect that, but you've got to let me go if that's the case," I whispered out of breath as I had said all that without pausing to breathe.

"I'm old enough to be yer father," he argued, avoiding my stare but not letting go of my wrists.

"Yeah, but my father's dead, so there is that," I reply acidly, not liking the mixed signals I was getting.

But then he looked up and stared into my green eyes and… He didn't say anything because this was Daryl and he wasn't much of a talker. However, he let my wrists go and with his freed hand, cupped my blushing cheek.

"Goodnight Mr. Dixon," I whispered into his wrist as I went tiptoes and lightly kissed the corner of his lips.

I then turned around and left through the trap door.

 **A/N: So there have been a few followings to this story and also quite a few views, however, only very few have reviewed those story so far. I'm not asking for reviews just to be happy (although they make me happy) but because I really need to know what you think of this story. Is Madeleine/Daryl going too fast? Too slow? Is Daryl too OOC? There are some things on this story that I'm unsure about and I would enjoy your opinions on it, good or bad :)**

 **Also, I decided to add some flashbacks from now on to show how Madeleine evolved from being shallow and pretty much useless to someone who can take care of herself even though she undoubtedly is flawed.**


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